As she came back down the corridor minutes later she heard Robbie coughing and when she entered the bathroom she found him red in the face and fighting for breath. He was sitting in the warm water but when she hurried across to him he put up his hand to ward her off.

‘I’ll … be … a’right … in … a … minute,’ he gasped, so after handing him a small towel which he held to his mouth she waited for the coughing bout to subside.

When he eventually handed it back to her she noted that there was blood on it but saying nothing she laid it aside and picked up a bar of carbolic soap.

‘Let’s hurry up and get this over with, eh?’ she suggested kindly. ‘And then we can get you tucked up in a nice clean bed and get you that milk and cake I promised you.’

He had paled to the colour of putty and now that he was undressed she saw just how frail his poor little body was. However, as soon as she tipped the first jug of clean water across his head he began to scream blue murder and one of the other nurses came running to see what was wrong.

‘Robbie here isn’t too keen on having his hair washed,’ Holly said breathlessly as she began to rub the carbolic soap into his hair. Already the bath water was the colour of mud and as she rubbed at his hair and body she saw that beneath the thick layer of grime his body was pink.

‘Need any help?’ the other nurse asked but Holly shook her head.

‘No, we’ll be done in a jiffy, won’t we, Robbie?’ she said encouragingly. ‘And then I’m going to get him a great big slice of Cook’s cherry cake and a lovely glass of milk.

The thought of the treat ahead seemed to calm him again and although he huffed and puffed his disapproval he allowed her to finish getting him clean.

‘There now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?’ she asked as she finally handed him a towel.

He wrapped it around himself and scowled at her but at least he wasn’t fighting her any more. ‘Turn yer back while I get dressed,’ he ordered and she immediately did as she was told. When she turned back he was dressed in clean nightclothes and looked very different to how he had minutes before.

‘Now all we need to do is get that hair combed.’

He scowled as she produced a fine-toothed comb but stood still as she began to run it through his lice-ridden locks. Dozens of the horrid little creatures came out with each stroke of the comb and Holly began to itch, but eventually she could see that he was weakening by the second and she stopped.

‘I reckon that should be enough for now.’ She laid the comb aside and took his hand. ‘Let’s go and get you tucked in now and I’ll fetch your food.’